US President Donald Trump has called Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to congratulate him on his victory in the country’s general election, and the two have agreed to meet in the near future.
The two countries were expected to enter talks about a new economic and security relationship after Monday’s vote.
Trump’s trade tariffs and repeated comments undermining Canada’s sovereignty overshadowed the race, which ended with Carney’s Liberals projected to win a minority government, according to public broadcaster CBC.
In their first call since the election, Trump congratulated Carney on his victory, according to the prime minister’s office on Tuesday.
The office also said the two leaders had “agreed on the importance of Canada and the United States working together – as independent, sovereign nations – for their mutual betterment”.
The fact that Carney did not win an outright majority will make his pressing tasks of negotiating with his US counterpart, and tackling a range of domestic issues, more of a challenge – as he will need to wrangle support from other political parties.
The Liberals will need to rely on those parties’ support to pass legislation through the House of Commons. They also face possible defeat in any vote of confidence in the chamber.
The Liberals are most likely to find willing partners with the diminished left-wing New Democrats, who have in the past supported the Liberals, and the Bloc Québécois.
The Liberals are projected to have won 169 seats, three short of the 172 needed for a majority in Canada’s House of Commons.
It still marks a historic turnaround for a party that had seemed on course for collapse just months ago.
Carney, a former central banker for Canada and the UK, will continue as prime minister, having stepped into the role last month following the resignation of his unpopular predecessor, Justin Trudeau.
BBC
